Tahoe dining: With cioppino, the third time's the charm

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TAHOE/TRUCKEE - You know, this is one of my favorite winter dishes, money well spent, and certainly very column worthy. So why have I not featured it in the past two years? Bad memories. Twice I tried to host a big Cioppino party and twice I failed miserably.

Once, while tending to my arriving guests, I forgot to tend to the big pot loaned to me by Moody's and burned the whole batch. (The pot, by the way, was fine.) Another time I forgot not to drink and, again, the soup suffered. Or so they tell me. Betty Crocked strikes again!

Well, the third time's the charm and this year my Cioppino had guests singing "That's Amore!" Of course I had to invite a whole new group of friends who would not feel compelled to reminisce about my previous disastrous attempts. But that's OK. Cioppino, if done well, has a way of bringing people together for life. And if not done well, it will make your guests feel better about themselves. -